Shooting Game for Multiple Players with Dynamic Shot Position Recognition and Remote Sensors

ABSTRACT

The embodied invention is a method and equipment suitable for a shooting game with dynamic shot recognition and automatic scoring among multiple players firing at the same target. Each player&#39;s shot is scored based on a difference in the target&#39;s image from a prior image as viewed by a camera. The scoring target is aligned with the camera, and the output of the score change is displayed to the multiple shooters.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Continuation-In-Part Application claims the benefit of and priorityto U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/493,100, entitled “ShootingGame for Multiple Players with Dynamic Shot Position Recognition on aPaper Target,” filed. Jun. 22, 2016, and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/474,874, entitled “Shooting Game for Multiple Players withDynamic Shot Position Recognition on a Paper Target,” filed Mar. 30,2017. The entire disclosures of the aforementioned applications areincorporated herein by reference for any purpose.

FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods of collectingand analyzing data related to firearms marksmanship. In variousembodiments, a shooting game system capable of collecting and analyzingshot data for multiple players shooting at the same target in acompetitive setting is provided. The system and methods described hereinprovide that a score for each player is automatically updated when eachplayer takes his turn.

BACKGROUND

Shooting at targets dates back to antiquity.

In modern times, competitive rifle/pistol scoring is commonly done byshooting at a paper based target with suitable markings for scoring. Theshooter's score is determined based on the position of holes made in thetarget, and scoring markings. An accurate result is determined when thetarget is closely examined.

Others have worked in the field to improve the scoring. For example,there are shooting scoring apps (i.e. Target Scan app for iOS) where aphotographed (or scanned) paper target is examined for the location ofthe shots and the total score is determined electronically. To improvethe accuracy of the scoring, a lighted background (or white backgroundpaper) is added behind the target to provide visual contrast between thetarget and the openings created by a shot. The system then distinguishesthe center of a shot from the area weighted geometry of the hole. Thesoftware can have difficulty recognizing a shot accurately, and a manualoption is given to the user to correct or place a shot to be scored.

Similarly CN1347040 also describes a scoring system where a target withbullet holes is analyzed for scoring. However, no disclosure was made asto how a shot was located in the camera image frame, and how a score wasdetermined.

US Patent Publication No. 2014/0106311 describes a shooting trainingsystem where a shot is displayed to the shooter by alternating views ofthe current target versus an image capture the target image before thelatest shot. This system only captures images and does not generate anautomatic score, and does not determine a shot location in any cameraimage capture.

There are problems with this type of scoring system. In a shootingcompetition, it can take an undesirable amount of time to determine ascore for a shooter versus other competing shooters. Multiple targetshave to be retrieved, scanned, and the results have to be tabulatedmanually for each player. A target scanning type of scoring system doesnot lend itself to instant updates on a shooter's score. Such delays inretrieving a score dampens the sense of competition among the shooters.Also, the scanning systems cannot separate the score between multipleshooters on the same target.

Similarly, US Patent Publication No. 2010/0178967 and U.S. Pat. No.4,898,391 describe a shooting game with a target and a gun that sends abeam of light to a game console for scoring against the target.Unfortunately, this type of scoring system does not use a gun whichfires real bullets and is a less satisfying game to play.

Currently, during a shooting competition match, the paper target isoften at a significant distance and binoculars or other visual aids mustbe used to estimate the current score. The end result is that the exactscore is difficult to determine until the match is over. US PatentPublication No. 2014/0106311 describes a method whereby the target ismonitored by a remote camera and the target image is sent back to aplayer. However, this system does not provide any automated scoring.

Shooting in a multi-player competition often requires a separateshooting lane for each player, and this can be expensive, particularlyin an indoor shooting situation. Also, each player is not able to watchthe other player shoot.

It is possible for multiple shooters to compete in a single lane andhave each player shoot at their target in sequence. However, this isless desirable in a competitive shooting situation as the target must beretrieved for each player and scored separately. A new target has to beplaced (manually or automatically) at the shooting distance. These typesof delays diminish the competitive environment due to the loss ofplaying momentum.

What is needed is an instant type of scoring system where multipleplayers shoot at the same target in a competition in a way which adds tothe feeling of competitive tension in the game. The current art lacksthis important feature. It is preferable that a shot by shot competitionbe created where each incremental score is shown to all of the shooters,thereby adding increasing game tension. The tension will increase as thegame progresses, and may be very high for the last two or three shots.This can lead to a very satisfying competition and elated feelings forthe victor, or victorious team.

SUMMARY

The embodied invention is a method and equipment suitable for a shootinggame with dynamic shot recognition and automatic scoring among multipleplayers firing at the same target. Each player's shot is scored based ona difference in the target's image from a prior image as viewed by acamera. The scoring target is aligned with the camera, and the output ofthe score change is displayed to the multiple shooters.

Important game enhancements include a dynamic update of the referencetarget image to follow multiple shot holes. When a significant change isdetected from a reference target image, a shot event is recognized andthe area of change identified for the placement of the shot. The shotscore is then accumulated in a display that is viewable by all players.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a shooting gallery lane designed for the multi-playertarget game system.

FIG. 2 shows a detail of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a player's view of the shooting gallery.

FIG. 4 is a simplified profile view of the shooting gallery.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are block diagrams for how the latest shot is recognizedand the score is determined.

FIG. 7 illustrates how the camera pixel sensors and an averaging filterare used to identify a shot location.

FIG. 8 is a game display showing the players their score and shotpositions.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate how the target image distortion is correctedwhen a camera is located above the target.

FIG. 10 shows communication flow between equipment components.

FIG. 11 shows a typical game display partway through the game showingadditional features.

FIG. 12 illustrates a shooting system in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a method in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates a game display with remote sensor data in accordancewith various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure generally relates to gamified firearmsmarksmanship, and more particularly, to systems and methods forproviding a shooting game to firearms users for various purposes such asentertainment, competition, and skill development. The detaileddescription of various embodiments herein makes reference to theaccompanying drawings, which show the exemplary embodiments by way ofillustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thedisclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may berealized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, thedetailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustrationonly and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of themethod or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are notlimited to the order presented. Moreover, any of the functions or stepsmay be outsourced to or performed by one or more third parties.Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, andany reference to more than one component may include a singularembodiment.

Systems, methods and computer program products are provided. In thedetailed description herein, references to “various embodiments”, “oneembodiment”, “an embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theknowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure,or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparentto one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure inalternative embodiments.

As used herein, terms such as “transmit,” “communicate” and/or “deliver”may include sending electronic data from one system component to anotherover a network connection. Additionally, as used herein, “data” mayinclude information such as commands, queries, files, data for storage,and the like in digital or any other form.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a shooting game isprovided. A shooting game can comprise a competition among differentplayers (also referred to herein as shooters) who shoot at the sametarget. The shooting game system can comprise a camera, such as a videocamera, in electronic communication with a shooting game systemcomputer. The terms “camera” and “video camera” may be usedinterchangeably herein. The video camera may be configured to monitorthe target and relay target image data to the shooting game system. Theshooting game system may be configured to relay the target image to ascreen or electronic display that is viewable by all players. Theplayers, in turn according to a defined sequence of players, shoot atthe target and the shot hole is automatically recognized by the shootinggame system based on digital image processing of target image data toidentify a significant change in the target image from shot to shot. Theshot placement is identified and a digital display marker is placed overthe shot hole on the target image. The digital image data may also beautomatically analyzed to determine the score of the shot. The currentshooter's overall score is updated and displayed on a game screen. Whenthe first player completes his/her turn, the next player in the sequenceof players becomes the shooter.

In various embodiments, a shooting game can comprise two to four playersper game. However, a shooting game can comprise any suitable number ofplayers, and the number of players may be user-selectable based on asetup that is input into the game system computer via a user interface.Identifying information may be input for each player participating in ashooting game, and the player sequence may likewise be determined by aplayer or other user.

In various embodiments, a player or other user can input a firearm typeand/or a firearm caliber to be used by a player in the game systemcomputer. In various embodiments, the firearm type and/or firearmcaliber may be selected from a predetermined menu of firearm typesand/or calibers. Input of a firearm type and/or firearm caliber into thegame system computer may facilitate target image data processing, suchas shot registration and scoring, by the game system computer. Forexample, a game system computer may select an appropriate shotregistration and scoring algorithm in response to input of a particularcaliber by a user. In various embodiments, a game system computer maydetermine a firearm caliber used by a player based on target image dataprocessing.

A shooting game can be configured to provide each shooter with apredefined number of shots per game, for example, 5, 7, 10, 14, or 20shots per player per game. In various embodiments, the number of shotsper player per game can be selected from a predetermined range, such asbetween 1 and 21 shots per game.

In various embodiments, a player's turn can comprise a single shot, or aturn can comprise multiple shots. The number of shots to be taken by aplayer in a single turn may be input by a user or operator or may beselected from a predetermined range of shot numbers.

In various embodiments, a player can provide an input to the gamecomputer to switch players, such as by pressing a button or otherwiseproviding an input to the game system computer to switch the scoring tothe next player in various embodiments, the game system computer mayautomatically switch to the next player in the sequence of playersfollowing detection and scoring of a player's shot. The game systemcomputer may display the identifying information for the next player toprompt the next player in a sequence of players to take his or her turn.In various embodiments, the game system may be configured to clearmarked shots upon a switch to a new player, particularly in embodimentsof game play in which each player takes multiple shots in a turn.

In various embodiments, a game system can comprise a target mountedinside a metal frame. A metal frame may comprise certain structuralfeatures that can serve as reference points for optical calibration of adigital camera and/or a shooting system. The frame may be designed tofit the target tightly so that the alignment and position relative tothe camera is substantially maintained and a set up calibration is notneeded when a new game is started. In various embodiments, a target maybe attached to a metal frame by an interference fit, such as by placingthe margins of the target between components of the metal frameconfigured to connect with one another by an interference fit or othermechanical connection. In various embodiments, a target can comprise apaper sheet or a sheet of cardboard material. A target can comprise asheet of non-paper material, such as polymer material, including variousnatural or synthetic polymers. In various embodiments, a polymer targetmaterial may be a self-healing polymer.

In various embodiments, a camera may be positioned in front of thetarget, and above it, so that the camera is suitably positioned toobtain an image of the target. The alignment between the target and thecamera may be established at the beginning of the game in response to auser-selected target position, or the alignment may be previouslyestablished. Preferably, the camera is kept at a fixed distance andposition from the target to simplify the set up and accuracy of thecameras image. In various embodiments, a camera may be mounted to themotorized target trolley. Mounting a camera to the motorized targettrolley may facilitate maintaining a fixed distance and position withrespect to the target. In various embodiments, a shooting lane cancomprise more than one target-oriented camera. For example, in variousembodiments, a camera may be mounted in fixed positions suitable tomonitor targets set at 10 ft, 25 ft, and 50 ft from the shootingposition. In various embodiments, a shooting lane can comprise one ormore fixed position cameras and a camera mounted to the motorized targettrolley. In embodiments comprising a fixed position camera and a cameramounted to the motorized target trolley, each camera may be used tocapture target images. Use of multiple cameras to capture target imagesmay provide for more robust image data and enhanced shot detectionaccuracy

In various embodiments, a camera may be housed in a protective housing.A protective housing may be configured to protect a camera from impactor penetration by an errant bullet fired by a player. For example, aprotective housing may comprise plate steel configured to enclose orshield a camera and protect the camera from direct impacts and/or fromthe effects of a bullet impact with the housing. In various embodiments,as as for fixed-placement cameras, a protective housing may comprise anangled metal baffle mounted to a structure such as the shooting laneceiling and configured to deflect a bullet downrange from the shooter.In embodiments comprising a camera mounted to a motorized targettrolley, a protective housing can comprise a steel housing configuredwith angled surface to similarly deflect a bullet downrange whileminimizing the energy transferred to the camera. In various embodiments,a protective housing may be vibrationally isolated from a cameraprotected by the housing.

The camera, and automatic image post processing, must be able torecognize when a shot is made and score it accurately. This is done bycontinuously monitoring the output of the target camera and observingwhen there is a significant image pixel change.

The ability of the camera to recognize a shot depends partly upon thesignal to noise ration. Modern digital image sensors in cameras haveknown errors that create signal noise. In general, the total noise isdependent on the noise factor, background, readout noise, and EM gain.The sensor noise must be filtered out in order to recognize a shot.

In various embodiments, a single board computer is used to interfacebetween the camera and the scoring display. The single board computer issuitably programmed to perform the automatic scoring functions anddisplay any scoring on the game display.

The game display may be any type of display that may be used to displaygame information. A game display can include, for example, a highdefinition television or monitor. In various embodiments, a game displaymay also comprise a mobile device such as a tablet or mobile phone. Agame display may be electronically connected to the system via a wiredconnection or a wireless communication link.

At the end of a game round, the total score for each shooter isautomatically computed and displayed under each player's name. The gamesystem may be configured to automatically identify a winner based oncomparison of each player's score. In various embodiments, the gamesystem may announce each player's score and/or the winning player via anaudio announcement.

In accordance with various embodiments, target image acquisitions isperformed using a camera. Pixel changes in a target image due to abullet impact in an image frame corresponding to the target area areused to identify a shot. The image from the camera is continuouslymonitored to recognize the location of the shot and score it accurately.

To aid in understanding the game, FIG. 1 shows significant elements ofthe game setup. A players' stand 101 has a display 102 which displaysmultiple players on the screen. The output of the wireless cameradisplays the current target image on display 102. Each player's score,the target, and marks of their shot positions are also shown on thescoring display. A keyboard (or a dedicated control box) may includenext player, previous player, display, game start, game setup, and gameend buttons or selections. Also, a setup screen may be provided to allowplayers or operators to select certain game parameters such as thetarget type, target size, target distance, number of players per game,the ammunition type, and the number of shots per player.

In various embodiments, a target type and/or target size maybe selectedfrom a range of available target types and/or target sizes.

The target assembly 115 is shown in FIG. 1. The target 103 is housedinside a metal frame 107 and removably connected to the motorized targettrolley 105 through a mounting clip 108. The target 103 and metal frame107 may be at least partially vibrationally isolated from mounting clip108 and/or trolley 105 by integration of a vibration dampening materialor mechanism, such as a mechanism integrated into the mounting clip 108,between mounting clip 108 and metal frame 107, or between mounting clip108 and trolley 105. The motorized target positioner moves on a rail 104to set the target at the correct distance from the player. The targetcamera 106 is attached to the target positioner with a good and clearview of the target. In various embodiments, a projector can beco-located on the target positioner with camera 106.

Motorized target trolley 105 can be configured to be positioned on rail104 at various user-selectable preset distances, such as 10 yards, 25yards, and 50 yards. In various embodiments, target distances need notbe present, and motorized target trolley 105 can be configured to bepositioned at any distance from the shooting position compatible withphysical parameters of the rail and shooting lane,

A target frame attaching clip 108 connects the target frame 107 with thetarget trolley 105. The trolley rides on the rail 104 and travels to thecharging station 109 during the normal course of shooting. An additional(optional) overhead game display 110 provides game status to theplayers. The charging station is connected via communication cables 1120to the game displays (FIG. 2). The target trolley is battery operated,and charges at the charging station through contacts 113 a,b (FIGS. 1and 2). LED lighting 114 is used to illuminate the target.

When a shot hits the target 103 (or inadvertently hits the metal targetframe 107), significant motion of the target can occur due to theimpact, causing a local area to move backward. Also, the bullet impactcan cause the target to shift in position, relative to the camera, withvibration or motion. This vibration can cause a significant enoughchange for a group of pixels to falsely report an area where a shot haspenetrated the target. The vibration can also be subtle, with the impactof the bullet causing a change in reflectivity on the target surface,also causing a significant enough change for a group of pixels tofalsely report an area where a shot has penetrated the target.

To minimize the effect of the target vibration and reflectivity changes,the frequency of how often the target image is analyzed can be varied toa more suitable time to allow the target and camera vibration todissipate. An interval of 1 second has been found to be optimal inimproving the reliability and accuracy of determining the shot location.

In various embodiments, a vibration dampening mechanism such as thatdescribed above may be incorporated into the system and may serve toreduce the vibrational or movement-induced reflectivity changes createdby the impact of a bullet with a target or frame.

The camera view of the target is distorted as the angle of the target isnot perpendicular to the camera view. The angle depends upon theposition of the camera, which is preferably above the target. This isnot a concern as to identifying the shot, but is important in scoringeach shot correctly. The lower edge of the target is narrower than thetop. The result is that there are fewer pixels per inch at the bottomedge of the target than at the top.

To facilitate improved reliability and to simplify the equipment needs,the wireless camera is powered by a battery that is rechargeable. Thebattery connects to a recharging station when target positioningassembly is moved to the players stand. In a preferred embodiment, themotorized target positioner is also battery driven.

The target image is preferably taken from the camera 106 with a 1080presolution. The sensor in the camera is a CCD type or a CMOS type.Typically, to obtain a color image, cameras use a Bayer color filterarray. The Bayer color filter array includes red, green, and blue lightfilters in a mosaic grid pattern in front of the individual camera pixelsensors. Typically, the Bayer 2×2 pixel filter grid comprises a greenand red color filter in the first row, and then a blue and green colorfilter in the second row. This 2×2 filter grid is repeated over theentire camera image sensor.

Since each camera pixel sensor only registers the light intensity of onecolor, the intensity of the other two color values at that sensor pixelare not known, and is missing information. To create an image file withfine detail, the other two colors at each of the four camera sensorpixels are interpolated using a de-mosaicing algorithm. This can be donein the camera or in a post processing algorithm.

Typical de-mosaicing algorithms include copying the colors fromneighboring sensor pixels, averaging different colors from nearby sensorpixels, or using linear interpolation of nearby colors. The goal is toreasonably estimate all three colors at each camera sensor pixel.

In an alternate embodiment, the camera is a black and white camera andthe color information is ignored.

FIG. 3 is a player's view of the shooting gallery. As shown, playersstand behind the table and fire at the target. A display is shown abovethe players to identify which player is shooting and each player'sscore.

FIG. 4 is an alternate view of the shooting gallery showing a computerthat is used as a shot record and a user interface.

In FIG. 5, a process flow for basic game play is illustrated. In variousembodiments, a round of basic game play (also referred to herein ashooting event) can be initiated when the first player to shoot pressesstart button 501 to begin their shooting turn. The camera captures acontinual baseline image frame 502 of the target from the continuoustarget camera video stream. The target camera then watches for asignificant change in the target 504 by comparing current image with theprevious baseline image 505. A shot will be recognized when there is asignificant pixel count with changes 503. A shot will be recognized whenmore than 0.02% of the pixels change from image to image.

Typically, a video frame (i.e. shot image) is captured after 1 secondafter the shot to determine the score. This avoids issues with anyslight target motion or changes in reflectivity from the shot impact.The shot scoring method determines where the shot occurred on the targetand updates the player score. The one second criteria is adjustable.

In various embodiments, a shooting system can include numerousadditional features that enrich the shooting experience, includingvarious interactive competitive and social features. For example, asystem can support addition of one or more players to a shooting event,such as one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or nplayers, where n can be any number, and the total number of playersentered into a shooting event can be essentially unlimited.

In various embodiments, each player can enter individual playerinformation, such as a player's name or player identification, variousdemographic or other identifying information such as sex, age, streetaddress, email address, social media account information, and the like.Social media account information can include user IDs and passwords tofacilitate integration of the system with a player's social mediaaccount, such as their Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, or YouTubeaccount, to enable a player to request that the system publish images,video, or other information from the system to a social media feedassociated with a social media account connected to the player'sindividual account. In various embodiments, a player's shooting sessionor a portion thereof may be live-streamed, such as via one or more ofthe player's social media accounts or via a channel provided by thesystem, in response to a user command, such as a prompt or request froma player or other operator. Video of a player's shooting session or aportion thereof may be recorded and uploaded to the internet or postedto social media following a shooting session.

A player's individual player information can be associated with a guestaccount used for a single visit to a shooting facility, or a player'sindividual information can be retained by the system and associated witha player account that may be accessed and used by an individual playerover multiple visits to a shooting facility or multiple shootingsessions during a visit. The player account may include a player accountuser ID and password to uniquely identify and secure each player'saccount in the system. A player account may be configured to record andstore various historical information from completed shooting sessionsfor a player, such as number of shots fired, firearms and/or calibersused, target types used (including stationary and animated targets),overall shot accuracy, shot accuracy for particular firearms and/orcalibers, shot accuracy for specific target types used, shot accuracytrends, and the like. A system can also be configured so that a player'saccount information can be integrated into and/or available at apoint-of-sale (POS) system, such that a player may be charged based onuse, or eligible for various discounts based on use (including number ofshooting sessions, or number of visits to shooting range), shootingperformance, and the like.

In various embodiments, player information can be entered via akeyboard, computer terminal, or dedicated control box located at aplayers' stand 101, or player information can be entered via awirelessly connected device, such as a tablet provided by the systemmanager, or by a player's personal mobile device that is wirelesslyconnected to the system. In various embodiments, the system can comprisea mobile application that may be downloaded to a player's personalmobile device and be configured to interact with or control the systemand the player's gameplay experience. In various embodiments, a systemcan also be configured with POS system integration to enable financialtransactions to take place at a dedicated control box located atplayers' stand 101 or on a player's personal mobile device that iswirelessly connected to the system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram that shows how a shot is recognized. Thecamera records a target image at a frame rate of 60 frames per second. Abaseline target image is dynamically maintained at a predeterminedinterval (typically an image 1 second previously) relative to thecurrent target image frame transmitted by the camera.

-   -   1. The current target image is turned into a grayscale image by        averaging the Red-Green-Blue (RGB) colors in each target image        pixel 601    -   2. The current target image is smoothed by averaging each target        image pixel with the surrounding neighbor pixels (i.e.        surrounding 8 pixels, 5 pixels at the image edges) 602. This        helps to eliminate camera sensor noise.    -   3. The current target image is compared to the baseline target        image to identify any pixels with a change in value 603.    -   4. The shot is recognized by looking at each pixel with a change        and examining the surrounding 1×1 inch area. When the pixel        change count in the 1×1″ surrounding area is more than a        threshold value (such as 25%), a shot is recognized as having        taken place 604.    -   5. For scoring and identification purposes, the center of the        shot is placed at the average x, y image pixel location with a        change. This is narrowed to the shot recognized 1×1″ area 605.    -   6. The shot center position is then scaled to the target image,        scored, and reported to display screen 606.

The average value for the x and y coordinates of the changed pixelsidentify the center of the shot on the target. To identify the shot onthe game display, a scoring marker (such as a circle or square) is thenfitted around the pixels with a significant change. Typically, thescoring marker is a fixed size. For scoring purposes, the most importantvalue is the location of the shot center in reference to the scoremarkings on the target 604.

In various embodiments, a scoring marker may comprise different colorsor shapes. For example, a red marker may be used to indicate thelocation of the most recent shot, while yellow marks may be used to markprevious shots. Any color or combination of colors may be used. Invarious embodiments, a particular marker shape may be associated with aspecific player. For example, a circular marker can be assigned to afirst player, a square marker assigned to a second player, a triangularmarker assigned to a third player, and a diamond-shaped marker assignedto a fourth player. In various embodiments, the game system can be usedto toggle through screens displaying the target overlayed with markerscorresponding to each player's shot, such that each player can view hisor her shot grouping independently of the other players' shot markers.

In various embodiments, a particular marker shape or color can beassociated with a particular caliber.

FIG. 7 illustrates additional information as to how the digital camerarecognizes a new hole position. A bullet hole is shown inside a 1″×1″area 701, which is made during a shooting game. To identify the imagechange due to the new hole, the 1″×1″ area surrounding the hole isoverlaid on top of a 10×10 grid representing camera resolution 702 of 10pixels per inch. The bullet hole may be identified with reference to achange in signal at individual camera pixels 703, and some pixels aredirectly affected and change in light intensity 704 b due to the hole(black dot) no longer reflecting light. In this illustration, 13 pixelshave light intensities are directly changed to at least a small degree(i.e. black dot is touching). When the shot is filtered to grayscale andrun through the neighbor pixel averaging filter, neighboring pixels 704a are also changed in value due to being averaged with the directlyaffected pixels. In this illustration, 20 additional neighboring pixelsare changed. A shot is recognized because 33% of the pixels in the 1×1″area are recognized as having been changed, and this is above the 25%threshold. In various embodiments, other approaches to image processingmay likewise, be used to recognize physical changes to a target inresponse to target penetration by a projectile. Any suitable method forimage processing that has been previously developed or is he developedin the future may be used for shot recognition in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

To accurately place the shot position on the target, any distortionbetween the camera and the target has to be corrected. The distortioncorrection is accomplished by mapping each pixel from an (row, column)position to a (height, width) position.

The goal of distortion correction is to accurately re-create the targetimage and display it to the user. FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate how theimage is distorted which allows for a methodology to adjust the cameraimage.

FIG. 9A, shows how an image is distorted due to the position of thecamera, and how the image will be seen by the camera. The target 901 hasa projected image plane 902 which is perpendicular to the camera 903orientation. Evenly spaced dashed lines 904 at the target 901 edge passthrough the projected image plane to the camera, which shows how theimage is distorted due to the position and viewpoint of the camera. Thecamera sees the projected image on the projected image plane 902. Thiscauses the lower portion of the target to be compressed in the cameraview as seen on the projected image plane 902.

FIG. 9B is a left side view of FIG. 9A. In FIG. 9B, the projected imageplane 902 is shown across the width and projected (dashed) lines showhow the edges of the target image is sent to the camera. Uponexamination, it is seen that the largest adjustment to the camera imageis adjusting the vertical height of the image, particularly on the lowerportion. The height adjustment is not linear. The horizontal image willreceive corrections and the distortion changes as a function of height.

To correct the target distortion, one embodiment is to map out a grid ofchanges in a matrix format, based on the projected geometry, and thenapply the change grid to the image. This will establish a variablescaling and re-positioning of an image pixel based on the row and columnto an x,y position. The change grid can be established on graphicplotting at chosen grid points, such as every 2×2 inches, and thenlinear interpolating between the chosen grid points to establish acorrected (x,y) position for each image pixel. Although time consumingto establish, a grid/interpolating system can be effective as itinvolves basic matrix math and is relatively easy to understand. 3Dcomputer aided drafting (CAD) can be helpful in establishing projectinggeometry.

Another embodiment is to use analytic geometry to identify theintersection of a line with a plane. The first point of the line is thecamera position (x₁,y₁,z₁) and the second point of the line is aposition (x₂,y₂,z₂) of an image pixel as taken by the camera. All of thecamera image pixels are located in a plane perpendicular to the cameraorientation. The target is the intersecting plane with a plane equationof ax+by+cz=d where a, b, c, and d are constants. Utilizing knownanalytic geometry methods, the equation of the line defined by thecamera and image pixel can be projected onto the target plane. Thismethod can be used to establish a target position (x,y,z) for each imagepixel (row, column), effectively correcting camera distortion.

In either method, the image correction can be verified by utilizing atarget with easily recognizable shapes (circles, equilateral triangles,squares, crosses, etc.) to determine if an image that is taken by thecamera is corrected satisfactorily.

In a preferred embodiment, the camera is located above the target and inclose proximity to it. This means that the camera is no further distanceto the target than the maximum width or the maximum height. Since thecamera is preferably located above the target, and out of the way ofshooting, the camera resolution per inch will be greater for the topportion of the target, and somewhat lower for the lower portion of thetarget. This adjustment in scale must be accounted for in the shotplacement. Typical view angles between the camera and the target are 0to 60 degrees (as measured from the horizontal plane), but this is notastrict requirement.

It is known that digital camera sensors have noise when taking a pictureor capturing a video frame. To that end, each pixel is gray-scaled byaveraging the pixel RGB values. Additionally, and to smooth out anytarget image pixels that might be incorrectly identified as a pixelchange, each pixel is then averaged with its immediately surroundingeight pixels. If an image pixel is on the edge of the sensor, then thepixel image is averaged with the five surrounding image pixels. Thiscreates an effective filter that smooths out image problems.

A particular problem with shooting is vibration of the paper target dueto the shot penetration. The target can vibrate in the area of the shotcausing the reflectivity of the target image to change immediatelyfollowing the shot. This creates unpredictable pixel changes andpotential shot misplacement. To avoid an inaccurate shot placement, thetarget may be allowed to recover for approximately 1 second before ascoring placement is made.

When working with the camera and lighting, it was discovered that thefrequency (i.e. 60 Hz) of the lighting on the target can causedifficulties with shot recognition. The camera scanning frequency maymatch that of the lighting frequency and this can cause a target imageshadow to be read as a changed target image frame. Consequently, a DC(direct current) based lighting system is preferred, such as a lightemitting diode (LED) which is powered by a constant voltage power supply(DC).

To further refine the shot recognition, the entire target is examinedfor a significant change, pixel by pixel. If a cluster of changes aredetected in a 1″×1″ square surrounding the changed pixel, then a shot isrecognized. The threshold of determining a shot is a value that isempirically determined. During a test on a typical web-cam type camerawith a CMOS sensor, a threshold of 25% was determined to be a goodbalance between sensitivity in detecting a shot and avoiding sensornoise which causes a false shot recognition. Other threshold values arepossible based on the type of camera chosen and the amount of camerasensor noise. A camera with a low noise sensor, for example, will use alower threshold that better identifies overlapping shots.

A typical camera that is useful for shot recognition will have an 8 bitresolution and captures color images. Also, a camera with a low sensornoise ratio is helpful in minimizing the amount of filtering required.Shot recognition is improved with a low signal to noise ratio. Thecamera could equally be a black and white which outputs a grayscaleimage. In this case, the grayscale image conversion is not necessary.

In various embodiments, a system can comprise a projector configured toproject high resolution video onto a display screen. The display screencan comprise, for example, a disposable paper screen or a disposablescreen constructed of another material suitable to display projectedvideo and to physically register impact or penetration by a projectile.In various embodiments, a projector can be mounted to a motorized targettrolley such as motorized target trolley 105 (FIG. 1), for example at orapproximately located in the position of camera 106. A display screencan comprise a target mounted to a metal frame connected to themotorized target trolley as described above with respect target assembly110. A display screen used for a projected video target can comprise ablank or plain target to facilitate visibility of the projected videoimage.

In various embodiments, a projected video can comprise a projected videoimage target. Projected video image targets can have any of a variety oftarget configurations, such as a circular bullseye, a human silhouette,a steel or reactive target, a bottle, a can, a bird, mammal or otheranimal, a clay pigeon, a zombie, a balloon, a saucer, and the like. Anytype of projected image suitable for use as a shooting target may beused as a projected video image target in accordance with variousembodiments of the present disclosure. A projected video image targetcan be still or animated. In various embodiments, an animated projectedvideo image target may be animated in response to a detected shot. Forexample, a projected video image target of a frangible target such as aclay pigeon may be shown to explosively fragment in the projected videoin response to a registered shot corresponding to the location of theprojected video image of the clay pigeon target (i.e., a “hit” target orscoring shot). A projected video image of a steel reactive target mayspin or flip in response to a scoring shot. A projected video image of agame animal may respond in a realistic or lifelike fashion to a hit,including, for example, responding differently for a grazing shot and a“kill shot.”

In various embodiments, an animated target may be timed, and a player'sscore for a shot may depend on the amount of time required tosuccessfully hit the animated target.

In various embodiments, a projected video image may comprise backgroundscenery. Background scenery may be animated. Animated background scenerymay comprise, for example, various settings corresponding to variousnatural or urban environments, such as a woodland environment, agrassland environment, an urban outdoor or street environment, an indoorurban environment, and the like. A projected video target environmentmay enhance the realism of a shooting experience and may correspond toany of a variety of natural hunting environments or tacticalenvironments. A projected video target environment may challenge ashooter with various non-target features. For example, a huntingenvironment may present a shooter with various non-target game animals,such as distracting animals, does, or the like. Similarly, a tacticalenvironment can present a shooter with non-target civilians, hostages,friendly forces, vehicles, and the like.

A projected video target environment may be configured provide a shooterwith a particular difficulty level. The difficulty level may be selectedfrom a range of difficulty levels. Various factors such as target size,speed of target movement, and presence of non-target features in theprojected video target environment may vary in response to differentdifficulty levels. A player's score may likewise take into considerationthe difficulty level of a particular projected video target and/orprojected video target environment.

FIG. 8 shows a game display. Up to four players can shoot, and theirindividual shot scores (bold letters) along with a total for each playeris shown. The individual shot locations have been identified and markedwith an individualized geometric marker, such as a triangle, square,hexagon, and rhombus. Other marker geometry could equally be used.

The shot can be scored based on either the distorted camera image or thecorrected target image utilizing the target score markings. It isimportant that the score is accurate, relative to the location of themarkings on a distorted or corrected image. In one embodiment, theposition of the shot can be mapped based on a score mapping on thecamera image. The row and column position of each pixel can be groupedand assigned to a particular score.

FIG. 10 shows communication flow between equipment components. In apreferred embodiment, the camera 1002 views the target 1001 and ishardwired to a small dedicated single board computer 1003 whichwirelessly communicates to a game computer 1004 which is hardwired tothe game display 1005. A user interface 1005 (keyboard, button board)may be hard wired to game computer 1004. In various embodiments, a userinterface need not be hard wired to the game computer. A user interfacein accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure cancomprise a dedicated touchscreen display, a tablet, or a mobile device.A dedicated touchscreen display may be hard wired or wirelesslyconnected to game computer 1004.

The single board computer is generally conceived to include a CPU, bothvolatile and non-volatile memory, an operating system, onboardcommunications between distinct components, a wireless transmitter, andsuitable software programming to execute non-transient computerinstructions. For example, the single board computer could be selectedfrom the portfolio of the Raspberry Pi single board computers asmanufactured by the Raspberry Pi Foundation (United Kingdom).

FIG. 11 shows a shooting game, partway through game completion. A playerlist 1101 on the left side show the current player up to make the nextshot. The current player's total score 1102 is displayed. A header text1103 indicates the current player and current player's round. A list ofthe current player's shots along with the score per shot is displayed ina list 1106. A current target image 1104, along with display markers1105 on current player's recognized and scored shots is shown. Thisinformation on the display is helpful for game clarity and to enhancethe game competition by having feedback on any game status questions theplayers may have.

In various embodiments, a shooting game system may be configured toreceive data from a remote sensor. Data from a remote sensor may includedata regarding a player and/or a player's firearm. For example, ashooting game system may be configured to receive data from one or morewearable devices that may be worn by a player, such as a heart ratemonitor, a photoplethysmograph, electroencephalography sensors, arespiration rate sensor, an accelerometer, an inertial measurement unit(IMU), a magnetometer, a gyroscope, and any other suitablemicroelectromechanical system or sensor that may be used to detect aphysical or environmental condition. In various embodiments, a shootinggame system may be configured to receive data from a sensor that may bemounted to a firearm. For example, PCT/US2016/013760 (Allgaier)discloses a rail-mounted firearm remote sensor apparatus and methods andis herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. A firearm-mountedsensor may be used to detect various events such as trigger squeeze,trigger break, firing, recoil, and the like, along with gun movementassociated with such events and/or throughout the shot-taking process.

In various embodiments, a shooting game system may comprise one or morevideo cameras directed at the player. A video camera directed at theplayer may collect image data that may be analyzed to provide usefulinformation surrounding a player's shot, such as information regardingstance, respiratory rate, body, arm and hand movements, eye tracking,gun barrel kinematics, and the like.

In various embodiments, a video camera directed at the player may beused to perform eye tracking. Eye tracking may be performed using eyetracking glasses comprising a camera or other systems configured toperform conical imaging using methods such as pupil corneal reflection.In various embodiments, a system with eye tracking may be used tomeasure a period of time in which a shooter's gaze is locked on aspecific location or object, a visual phenomenon referred to as a “quieteye” period, for example by Causer et al., 2010, Medicine and Science inSports and Exercise, 42(8): 1599-1608, which article is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

In various embodiments in which an animated projected video image targetis used, a remote sensor used to perform eye tracking may be used toproduce and record tracked eye movement data. The system may beconfigured to compare tracked eye movement data to animated projectedvideo image target movement to assess a shooter's visual acquisition andtracking of a moving target during the player's shot. Similarly, afirearm mounted remote sensor and/or a video camera and digital imageprocessing system may be used to provide gun barrel kinematics data thatmay be compared to animated projected video image target movement toassess a shooter's firearm tracking movements relative to the targetmovements.

In various embodiments, a video camera directed at the player maycomprise a trigger-oriented camera. A trigger-oriented camera may beconfigured to capture video images of a shooter's trigger finger orfirearm grip including the area around the trigger. A system may beconfigured to perform digital image processing to determine when a shotis taken based on video image data from a trigger-oriented camera.

In various embodiments, remote sensor data may be analyzed inconjunction with a player's shooting performance data. For example, ashooter's shot accuracy may be correlated with respiratory rate andpattern data obtained from a respiration sensor. A shooter's accuracymay be correlated with heart rate and pattern data obtained from a heartrate sensor. In various embodiments, such data analysis may facilitate aplayer identifying a respiratory rate, or identification of timing of ashot relative to a respiratory pattern, that provides for enhanced shotaccuracy. In various embodiments, a firearm-mounted sensor may providefor detection of the timing of a shot with enhanced precision. Likewise,a firearm mounted sensor may be used to provide information regardinggun movement throughout a period of time that may include preparationfor a shot, aiming, firing, and follow through. Firearm movement datathroughout a similar period of time may also be produced by digitalanalysis of video image data. In various embodiments, shot data andvarious types of data that may be obtained from remote sensors and/orfrom shooter-oriented video cameras may be integrated and analyzed toprovide valuable feedback to a shooter that may be used to makeadjustments to shooting technique to achieve enhanced accuracy.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a shooting system 1200 inaccordance with various embodiments. Shooting system 1200 can compriseremote sensor subsystem 1210 and data processing and display subsystem1220. Remote sensor subsystem 1210 can comprise one or more remotesensors 1211, a data recorder 1212, and a data transmitter 1113.

Data recorder 1212 can receive and record sensor data from one or moresensors 1211. Data recorder 1212 can be configured to send sensor datato data transmitter 1213 for transmission to data processing and displaysubsystem 1220. Data processing and display subsystem 1220 can belocated at a distance from the firearm. Transmission of data from sensorsubsystem 1210 to data processing and display subsystem 1220 can be viaa wired connection or a wireless communications link.

Data processing and display subsystem 1220 can comprise data receiver1221, data storage module 1222, data analysis module 1223, and userinterface 1224. Data receiver 1221 receives sensor data from datatransmitter 1213 via the wired connection or wireless communicationslink, and stores the received sensor data in data storage module 1222.

Sensor data from data receiver 1221 and data storage module 1222 can beprocessed and analyzed by data analysis module 1223. Target images, rawdata and the results of data analysis can be displayed to a user viauser interface 1224. User interface 1224 can comprise a game displayconfigured to provide information to a player.

Data can be stored locally in sensor subsystem 1210 and/or in dataprocessing and display subsystem 1220. Data can be collected andaggregated for a series of shots. In some embodiments, aggregate datacan be used for determining average scores and/or for establishing atrend.

In various embodiments, a shooting system can comprise a plurality ofremote sensor subsystems. For example, a shooting system can comprise afirst remote sensor subsystem, a second remote sensor subsystem, a thirdremote sensor subsystem, a fourth remote sensor subsystem, and an nthremote sensor subsystem. Each remote sensor subsystem may be inelectronic communication with a data processing and display subsystem.For example, in various embodiments, a first remote sensor subsystem cancomprise a sensor subsystem located on a firearm, a second remote sensorsubsystem can comprise a photoplethysmograph, a third remote sensorsubsystem can comprise a respiration monitor, and a fourth remote sensorsubsystem can comprise an eye tracking system. Any number andcombination of remote sensors may be used in a system in accordance withvarious embodiments.

In various embodiments, a firearm-mounted sensor subsystem such assubsystem 1210 may be either integral to the firearm or attached to thefirearm. For example, sensor subsystem 1210 can be attached at asuitable location on the firearm including, but not limited to, therail, the slide, the trigger guard, the magazine, the barrel, or thestock. Sensor subsystem 1210 can comprise one or more sensors 1211.Sensors 1211 can comprise motion-tracking devices including, but notlimited to, one or more from the following list: a laser, amagnetometer, an inertial measurement unit, an accelerometer, and agyroscope.

In various embodiments, a method for integrating remote sensor data intoa shooting system process is provided. A method for integrating remotesensor data 1300 is illustrated in FIG. 13. Method 1300 can comprise asystem initiation step (step 1310). Method 1300 can then compriseinitiation of a remote sensor (step 1320). Following remote sensorinitiation, a system may then begin data collection (step 1330) toproduce collected sensor data. Method 1300 can comprise a method fordetection of a fired shot (step 1340) to identify a fired shot event. Invarious embodiments, detection of a fired shot may be performed targetimage processing or by data from another remote sensor. Method 1300 cancomprise a step of correlation of collected data with detection of afired shot by the system in step 1350. For example, in variousembodiments, a system may be configured with a buffered data storage fordata from one or more remote sensors. Detection of a fired shot in step1340 and correlation of collected data with the fired shot event in step1350 may comprise demarcating buffered data for a specified periodbefore and after the fired shot event to produce correlated sensor dataand uncorrelated sensor data. In this matter, collected data notassociated with a fired shot event may be discarded by the system instep 1360 to conserve data storage space for valuable data associatedwith shots fired by players. Method 1300 may further comprise displayingcorrelated sensor data associated with one or more fired shot eventswith target image data (step 1370), for example, in response to a playerinput or request.

A schematic of a data display 1400 is illustrated in FIG. 14. Datadisplayed by a system comprising remote sensors can include, forexample, video image of the shooter as a shot is fired 1401, gun barrelkinematic data 1402, target image data 1403, eye movement data 1404,heart rate data 1405, respiration rate data 1406, electroencephalographydata 1407, and game score information 1408. Any collected data can bedisplayed in any suitable arrangement in accordance with variousembodiments.

Each described embodiment incorporates image processing equipmentcomprising one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), volatile RandomAccess Memory (RAM), non-volatile storage such as ElectronicallyErasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash, optical disk,magnetic disk, or solid state memory such as a solid state disk or amicro SD card. In various embodiments, a system can comprise at leastone digital camera system which may utilize an image sensor such as acomplementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) or CCD, and the necessaryelectronic circuitry to transmit the captured images for further imageprocessing. In various embodiments, a digital camera system can comprisea digital video camera system.

Alternate embodiments for the single board or game computer may containa Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) with methods to split the computationalworkload between the CPU and GPU. The described embodiments include auser interface that provides for the user to input user commands. A userinterface can comprise a keypad, keyboard, microphone, accelerometers,or touchscreen. Each embodiment may contain an internal battery, acceptinterchangeable batteries, or receive power from an outside source suchas mains power. Each embodiment may contain a wired or wireless networkinterface to enable communication to and from external devices. Althoughnot necessarily utilized, a visual output device such as a monitor ortouchscreen may be included within any embodiment.

Digital cameras operate by recording light incident upon their sensors.There are many types of acceptable cameras with suitable imageresolution to identify a new hole made in the target. The conceiveddigital camera is preferably directly connected to the single boardcomputer via technologies such as Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire,and ethernet. Wireless transmissions from the single board computerinclude standards such as Bluetooth, WiFi, and cellular networks. Thedigital camera may also communicate via a Serial Interface or a ParallelInterface.

As used herein the terms single board computer and computer system areintended to refer to a computer-related entity, comprising eitherhardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or softwarein execution capable of performing the embodiments described. Thedisclosed embodiments which use the single board computer refer to beinginterfaced to and controlled by a computer readable storage mediumhaving stored thereon, a computer program. The computer readable storagemedium may include a plurality of components such as one or more ofelectronic components, hardware components, and/or computer softwarecomponents. These components may include one or more computer readablestorage media that generally store instructions such as software,firmware and/or assembly language for performing one or more portions ofone or more implementations or embodiments of an algorithm as discussedherein. These computer readable storage media are generallynon-transitory and/or tangible. Examples of such a computer readablestorage medium include a recordable data storage medium of a computerand/or storage device. The computer readable storage media may employ,for example, one or more of a magnetic, electrical, and/or optical datastorage medium. Further, such media may take the form of, for example,floppy disks, magnetic tapes, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, hard disk drives, microSD cards, standard SD cards, and/or solid-state or electronic memory.Other forms of non-transitory and/or tangible computer readable storagemedia not list may be employed with the disclosed embodiments.

A number of such components can be combined or divided in animplementation of a computer system. Further, such components mayinclude a set and/or series of computer instructions written in orimplemented with any of a number of programming languages, as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art. Computer instructions areexecuted by at least one central processing unit. In addition, otherforms of computer readable media such as a carrier wave may be employedto embody a computer data signal representing a sequence of instructionsthat when executed by one or more computers causes the one or morecomputers to perform one or more portions of one or more implementationsor embodiments of a sequence. Computer instructions for variouscomponents of data processing performed by a system disclosed herein maybe performed on a local server or may be performed on a cloud-basedserver.

As used herein, the term “network” includes any cloud, cloud computingsystem or electronic communications system or method which incorporateshardware and/or software components. Communication may be accomplishedthrough any suitable communication channels, such as, for example, atelephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet, point ofinteraction device (point of sale device, personal digital assistant(e.g., mobile device, kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellitecommunications, off line communications, wireless communications,transponder communications, local area network (LAN), wide area network(WAN), virtual private network (VPN), networked or linked devices,keyboard, mouse and/or any suitable communication or data inputmodality. Moreover, although the system may be implemented with TCP/IPcommunications protocols, the system may also be implemented using IPX,Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI, any tunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH),or any number of existing or future protocols. If the network is in thenature of a public network, such as the Internet, it may be advantageousto presume the network to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers.Specific information related to the protocols, standards, andapplication software utilized in connection with the Internet isgenerally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not bedetailed herein. See, for example, DILIPNAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS ANDPROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE, various authors, (Sybex 1999);DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0 (1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IPCLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997) and DAVID GOURLEY AND BRIAN TOTTY, HTTP THEDEFINITIVE GUIDE (2002), the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

“Cloud” or “Cloud computing includes a model for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may includelocation-independent computing, whereby shared servers provideresources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand.For more information regarding cloud computing, see the NISTS (NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computing athttp://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-145.pdf(last visited Dec. 4, 2018), which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

In various embodiments, components, modules, and/or engines of a systemas described herein may be implemented as micro-applications ormicro-apps. Micro-apps are typically deployed in the context of a mobileoperating system, including for example, a Windows mobile operatingsystem, an Android Operating System, Apple iOS, a Blackberry operatingsystem and the like. The micro-app may be configured to leverage theresources of the larger operating system and associated hardware via aset of predetermined rules which govern the operations of variousoperating systems and hardware resources. For example, where a micro-appdesires to communicate with a device or network other than the mobiledevice or mobile operating system, the micro-app may leverage thecommunication protocol of the operating system and associated devicehardware under the predetermined rules of the mobile operating system.Moreover, where the micro-app desires an input from a user, themicro-app may be configured to request a response from the operatingsystem which monitors various hardware components and then communicatesa detected input from the hardware to the micro-app. In variousembodiments, a micro-app may be made available as a service.

The disclosure may be described herein in terms of functional blockcomponents, screen shots, optional selections and various processingsteps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocks may berealized by any number of hardware and/or software components configuredto perform the specified functions. It should be appreciated that suchfunctional blocks may be realized by any number of computer-basedsystems and tangible non-transitory computer readable storage mediumconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, system 1100may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements,processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and/or the like,which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one ormore microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of system 1100 may be implemented with any programming orscripting language such as C, C++, Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, VisualBasic, SQL Stored Procedures, extensible markup language (XML), with thevarious algorithms being implemented with any combination of datastructures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements.Further, it should be noted that system 1100 may employ any number ofconventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, dataprocessing, network control, and/or the like.

These software elements may be loaded onto a general purpose computer,special purpose computer, or other programmable data processingapparatus to produce a machine. Such that the instructions that executeon the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus createmeans for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block orblocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flow chart block orblocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause aseries of operational steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions which execute on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations Support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flow chart illustrations, may be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions. Practitioners willappreciate that the illustrated steps described herein may comprise inany number of configurations including the use of windows, web pages,web forms, popup windows, prompts and/or the like. It should be furtherappreciated that the multiple steps as illustrated and described may becombined into single web pages and/or windows but have been expanded forthe sake of simplicity. In other cases, steps illustrated and describedas single process steps may be separated into multiple web pages and/orwindows but have been combined for simplicity.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described,the invention may be modified and adapted to various operational methodsto those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is not limited tothe description and figure shown herein, and includes all suchembodiments, changes, and modifications that are encompassed by thescope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a rail; a motorized targettrolley configured to move on the rail; a target assembly comprising atarget and a metal frame, wherein the target assembly is removablyattached to the motorized target trolley using a mounting clip; adigital video camera configured to capture a video image of the target;a game computer configured to receive the video image of the target andto process target image data; a game display configured to display gameinformation; wherein the game information comprises a least a portion ofthe video image of the target; and a user interface in electroniccommunication with the game computer.
 2. The system of claim 1,hereinthe user interface comprises a touchscreen display.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the target assembly is at least partially vibrationallyisolated from one of the mounting clip and the motorized target trolley.4. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital video camera is mounted tothe motorized target trolley.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thesystem comprises a plurality of digital video cameras.
 6. The system ofclaim 5, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital video camerasis mounted to the motorized target trolley.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the system comprises a projector configured to project an imageonto the target.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the projector ismounted to the motorized target trolley.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the system comprises a remote sensor.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the remote sensor is selected from a heart rate monitor, aphotoplethysmograph, a respiration rate sensor, an accelerometer, aninertial measurement unit, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, an eye tracker,and a video camera.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the systemcomprises a plurality of remote sensors.
 12. The system of claim 1,wherein the system is configured to receive player information.
 13. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the player information comprises socialmedia account information.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thesystem is configured to publish game information to a social media feedassociated with a player's social media account information in responseto a user command.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the system isconfigured to publish video of a player's shooting session.
 16. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the system is configured provide a playeraccount, and wherein a player account is configured to record and storehistorical information from completed shooting sessions for a player.17. The system of claim 16, wherein the historical information comprisesinformation selected from number of shooting sessions, number of shotsfired, firearms used, calibers used, target types used, overall shotaccuracy, shot accuracy for a particular firearm, shot accuracy for aparticular caliber, shot accuracy for a particular target type, and shotaccuracy trends.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprisesa mobile application available for download to a player's personalmobile device, and wherein the mobile application is configured topermit a player to control the system from the player's personal mobiledevice.
 19. A method comprising: initiation of data collection by aremote sensor to produce collected sensor data; detection of a firedshot to identify a fired shot event; correlation of collected sensordata with the tired shot event to produce correlated sensor data anduncorrelated sensor data; and discard of uncorrelated sensor data. 20.The method of claim 19, further comprising display of correlated sensordata with target image data.